


A Family (And Everything That Goes With It)

by josywbu



Series: Irondad Advent Calendar 2020 [19]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Banter, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, So much Love in there, family traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:02:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28114338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/josywbu/pseuds/josywbu
Summary: The weekly family cooking night rolls around in the Parker-Stark household and it’s as cute as you imagine.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Pepper Potts, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Irondad Advent Calendar 2020 [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2029600
Comments: 9
Kudos: 57





	A Family (And Everything That Goes With It)

**Author's Note:**

> I think we have deserved ourselves some sweet, inconsequential family fluff :-)

Pepper is the first one in the kitchen, her hair loose on her shoulders after keeping it in a tight ponytail all day. She lounges on one of the bar stools at the counter in one of the science pun t-shirts Peter has gotten her and light grey sweatpants and enjoys the fruity smell and warmth of her tea. These moments of introspection are her favorite way to relax from a long work day.

Tony saunters in next, hair a total disaster from going through it with his hand about a million times working on the new blueprints of their next release. He tiredly leans his head against her shoulder and closes his eyes for a moment, enjoying her presence and the quiet time. He’s mentally preparing for the whirlwind that’s bound to enter any second.

As if he summoned them with his thoughts, the elevator opens with a high-pitched ding and F.R.I.D.A.Y. sounds especially fond when she announces their guests.

Peter is almost jumping out of the confined space and runs over to them with a spring in his step and words falling from his mouth in record time.

“Mister Stark,” he greets and hugs both him and Pepper briefly before continuing to update them all about the day he’s had. “The coolest thing happened in Spanish today! We had like a listening exercise and Ms. Fernandez always makes us read out all possible answers before we start listening and she just went down the attendance sheet and let everyone read out one of the answers but she totally skipped me!”

“That’s so cool, buddy,” Tony replies, sarcasm heavy in his tone. He can’t help but laugh at Peter’s indignant splutter. The kid’s enthusiasm is contagious and it’s clear in the fond smiles of both Pepper and May that they agree.

“That’s not the cool part,” Peter shoots back and jumps up to sit on one of the bar stools next to Pepper, almost tipping over and prompting three adults to lunge forward to catch him should the necessity arrive. He just keeps talking as if nothing has happened. “Reading out is kind of like the easiest part, y’know? And she skipped me _only_ ,” he excitedly emphasizes the word and points his index finger at nothing in particular, “to ask me for the right answer on the hardest task after we had listened to the audio. So, in conclusion, she thinks I’m super duper smart and only asks me the hard questions now.” He concludes with a little bow, undoubtedly proud of both his knowledge of the Spanish language and his deduction skills.

“That’s so cool, Pete,” May nods with exaggerated pride and ruffles his hair.

He ducks away from her hand and glares at May and Tony before pointedly turning away from both of them and towards Pepper. “You’re awful. I’ll be spending time with my real friends now.”

Pepper laughs and gracefully accepts his overblown hug. “I’m very proud of you, Peter,” she says kindly and pats his hair.

“At least someone is,” he smiles up at her sweetly, then sticks his tongue out at May and Tony. 

“You know what, May,” Tony nods to her, “Let’s get the pasta going because if this is any indication we’ll starve before he is done playing out his tantrum.”

Completely ignoring Peter’s vehement protests, they start pulling out supplies and get to work on making the dough, chatting all the while about everything and nothing in particular.

May tells him about the new guy at work that has had trouble integrating into the team and how she feels bad for him but that he doesn’t really make it easy for any of them to actively spend more time with him. Meanwhile Tony tells her about the frustrating meeting he has had with the rest of R&D that cost him an hour of time and shaved 5 years off his life. Probably. At least.

Like clockwork, once Peter feels like he has gotten enough appreciation, Pepper and Peter tend to thawing and heating up the pre-prepared sauce which is the only task May and Tony trust them with after multiple disastrous attempts at cooking one on their own even with supervision.

All throughout the mundane tasks, Peter keeps talking animatedly, undisturbed by the digs that naturally follow. Despite, he dishes out every bit as all of them combined and he’s long since learned to take it with grace.

About an hour later the pasta is drained, the sauce that has been happily simmering on the stove is taken to its designated place on the dining table and Umberto Tozzi’s passionate voice oozes from the high-tech surround system in the living room as everyone gathers on their designated seats.

Peter and May share the honorable task of filling their plates with hot-steaming pasta while Tony and Pepper take care of drinks – soda for Tony and Peter and one of their good red wines for Pepper and May as per usual – until, finally, they are ready to eat.

Or, well, almost ready to eat.

“It’s Pepper’s turn to start,” Peter declares and so she does.

Pepper smiles softly. “Today I’m grateful for Tony looking over and approving the schemes right after I sent them.”

Tony toasts to that, fluttering his eyelashes at his wife affectionately who repays him with a warm laugh and a good-natured clinking of their glasses.

Peter acknowledges it with a nod and looks over to May, while everyone else continues to look at him. It’s funny, really, how in light of family cooking night three full grown adults got regularly reduced to puddles of parental goo when Peter enforced his self-declared rule.

It’s meant to be a compromise between May’s faith, Tony’s blatant refusal to believe that their lives are affected by anything but their own actions and Peter’s desire for a family tradition. Right before they start to eat, everything has to share one good thing that has happened today and, for all his teasing, Tony really thinks the kid is onto something with this one.

“I had some time on my shift today and spent it talking to one of our patients when her family couldn’t make it during visiting hours.” She chuckles lightly, thinking of the stories they’d shared. “She smiled the entire time.”

Before he has to be prompted, Tony raises his glass of soda. “I figured out a bug in our latest update so we can publish it tomorrow and Dum-E did not douse me in extinguishing foam once.”

Peter laughs, “Well, the day isn’t over yet.”

“Shush, child,” Tony waves him off, “Come clean so we can eat,” he says without any real rush in his tone.

“Fine,” Peter rolls his eyes, “I’ll come clean about the best thing that has happened today and probably _all week_ and possibly all year,” he announces pompously and adds a short pause for the dramatics of it all.

“I mean, we did get married this year and you were the ring bearer” Tony points to the golden band on his finger just as May nods her agreement.

“And you _will_ graduate high-school this year.”

“And you will get your college acceptance letters,” Pepper chimes in.

Peter shoots them an unimpressed glare one after the other and shrugs. “I said what I said.” And, without waiting for any of them to interrupt him again, he keeps talking. “There’s a cosplay contest to win a backstage visit at the filming location of The Mandalorian including meetings with Pedro Pascal _and_ Jon Favreau.”

“That’s the Happy double, right?” Pepper inquires taking a sip from her wine.

“He looks nothing like Happy,” both May and Peter protest loudly.

“Anyway,” Peter says, already picking up his fork and spoon, “We can start eating now but while we do that we can also brainstorm ideas for the best cosplay _ever_.”

“ _Buon Appetito_ ,” they all murmur and start digging into their food. For a while, all that can be heard is the resounding scratching and clinking of cutlery and the content silence of people eating. 

“So, about that cosplay,” Peter starts again in between bites, “I was thinking we could probably build the coolest helmet ever, y’know.” He slurps the remainder of his spaghetti, leaving a trail of dotted red all around his plate. “And we’d be able to rebuild the weapons. Functionless, of course,” he adds after his aunt’s warning look, “But they’d blink and make sounds!”

May laughs. “If there was a contest for biggest nerd, I think they’d take you after one interview.”

Peter flutters his eyelashes at her innocently, “But I’m your nerd.”

She shakes her head decisively from one side to the other. “Nope. Not with this one. With this you’re Tony’s nerd and I refuse to take any responsibility whatsoever.”

“So, this is my fault now?” Tony protests to which May only shrugs and let’s the bickering continue between the two boys. Who, two weeks later, have by far the coolest and most-thought-out cosplay any one has ever seen. 


End file.
